The Atlanta Hawks, led by veteran guard McCollum, made a late comeback to defeat the New York Knicks and tie the playoff series at 1-1.
Published April 21, 2026
CJ McCollum scored six of his game-high 32 points for the visiting Atlanta Hawks in the final two-plus minutes on Monday night, overcoming the New York Knicks 107-106 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series, coming from an eight-point deficit in the final five minutes.
The Hawks finished on a 15-6 run, making the best-of-seven series even in each game. Game 3 is scheduled for Thursday night in Atlanta.
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The Hawks trailed by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, though their only lead was 36-35 before the eventual surge. Atlanta fell behind 100-92 when Jalen Brunson hit a floater with 5:26 left.
Both teams traded empty possessions, but Atlanta scored on its next three possessions on Jalen Johnson’s layup with 3:25 left to pull within 100-99. With 2:08 left, McCollum made the winning layup past Brunson.
New York OG Anunoby missed two free throws, McCollum hit a short jumper and Brunson sank a 3-pointer to tie the score at 103-103. After McCollum committed a turnover and Brunson missed a jumper up the middle, McCollum put the Hawks ahead for good with a fadeaway jumper from the left baseline with 33.5 seconds left.
Nickell Alexander-Walker blocked Brunson’s shot and set up Johnson for a dunk to give the Hawks a 107-103 lead with 10.2 seconds left. After a timeout, Brunson circled the rim for a 3-pointer, then McCollum was fouled by Hart but missed both free throws.
The Knicks had a timeout left, but they pushed the ball up the court, Hart dished to Mikal Bridges, who missed a 12-foot winning attempt from the left side, and time expired.
The Hawks shot 72.2 percent (13 of 18) in the fourth, while the Knicks shot just 22.7 percent (5 of 22).
Jonathan Kuminga scored 19 points off the bench for the Hawks, with Johnson (17 points) and Onyeka Okongwu (15 points) also scoring in double figures.
Brunson scored 29 points for the Knicks. Hart had 15 points and 13 rebounds, and Karl-Anthony Towns had 18 points. Anunoby had 14 points and Mitchell Robinson had 13 points off the bench. Bridges added 10 points.
